The Weekend That Changed Everything

Chapter 1: I Love You

The sentence that ended my college relationship sounded almost gentle.

“I love you,” he told me, “but it’s not enough.”

We were sitting across from each other in a small coffee shop near campus. Around us, students talked over steaming cups and unfinished assignments. Someone laughed loudly near the counter. The espresso machine hissed. Outside, February wind pushed dry leaves along the pavement.

Life continued as usual while my heart quietly broke.

My boyfriend stared at the table instead of looking at me. We had been together long enough for me to recognize every nervous habit he had. He rubbed his thumb across the edge of his cup whenever he felt uncomfortable. At that moment, he was doing it so hard that the paper had begun to bend.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

He finally looked up. “I don’t know. I care about you. I really do. But something is missing.”

Something is missing.

It was the kind of explanation that sounded meaningful until you tried to understand it.

“Did I do something wrong?”